Hand crew clamp

A hand screw clamp comprising:

• first and second jaws;
• a pair of threaded rods, each comprising a handle for manual rotation;
• a pair of first couplers mounted to the first jaw and coupled to the threaded rods;
• a pair of releasable couplers mounted to the second jaw and coupled to the threaded rods, said releasable couplers each comprising a threaded portion engageable with the respective threaded rod and a slidable portion sized to accommodate sliding movement of the respective threaded rod;
• and
• an actuating element movably mounted to the second jaw and engaged with both of the releasable couplers, said actuating element movable between an engaged position, in which both of the threaded portions are engaged with the respective threaded rods and manual rotation of the handles moves the second jaw along the threaded rods, and a disengaged position, in which both of the threaded portions are disengaged from the respective threaded rods and the threaded rods are free to slide past the slidable portions without rotation of the threaded rods;
• wherein the actuating element comprises a push plate positioned alongside the second jaw generally parallel to a plane passing through the threaded rods.

A hand screw clamp comprising:

• first and second jaws;
• a pair of threaded rods, each comprising a handle for manual rotation;
• a pair of first couplers mounted to the first jaw and coupled to the threaded rods;
• a pair of releasable couplers mounted to the second jaw and coupled to the threaded rods, said releasable couplers each comprising a threaded portion engageable with the respective threaded rod and a slidable portion sized to accommodate sliding movement of the respective threaded rod;
• and
• means for allowing a user to simultaneously move both of the releasable couplers with one hand, said means comprising an actuating element movably mounted to the second jaw to move along a direction substantially transverse to a plane passing through the threaded rods, and means for causing the releasable couplers to move in response to movement of the actuating element, said actuating element operable to move the releasable couplers between an engaged position, in which both of the threaded portions are engaged with the respective threaded rods and manual rotation of the handles moves the second jaw along the threaded rods, and a disengaged position, in which both of the threaded portions are disengaged from the respective threaded rods and the threaded rods are free to slide past the respective slidable portions without rotation of the threaded rods.

A hand screw clamp comprising

• first and second jaws;
• a pair of threaded rods, each comprising a handle for manual rotation and a protrusion near one end;
• a pair of first couplers mounted to the first jaw and bearing on the protrusions to limit axial movement of the threaded rods while allowing rotation of the threaded rods with respect to the first jaw;
• a pair of releasable couplers mounted to the second jaw and receiving the threaded rods, each of said releasable couplers comprising a threaded portion engageable with the respective threaded rod and a slidable portion sized to accommodate sliding movement of the respective threaded rod;
• and
• a push plate movably mounted to the second jaw and coupled to both of the releasable couplers, said push plate extending alongside the second jaw generally parallel to the threaded rods, said push plate movable between an extended position in which the threaded portions are engaged with the respective threaded rods and manual rotation of the handles moves the second jaw along the threaded rods, and a retracted position, in which the threaded portions are disengaged from the respective threaded rods and the threaded rods are free to slide past the slidable portions without rotation of the threaded rods to allow rapid movement of the second jaw relative to the first jaw;
• and
• at least one spring mounted to react against the second jaw to resiliently bias the push plate to the extended position.